Commercially available electrostatic copying machines or copiers, generally include processing apparatus for forming and developing an electrostatic latent image on a moving photoreceptor and thereafter transferring the developed image from the photoreceptor to a copy sheet made of a suitable material such as paper.
As shown in U.S. Pat. No. B481,048, issued Mar. 16, 1976 to John A. Toto et al, many of such copiers are provided with well-known means for flash illuminating a document, placed by the operator at the copier's document illuminating station, typically a glass platen, to expose the photoreceptor with light modulated by the graphic information on the document. Whereupon, the photoreceptor selectively conducts to form the electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor. The intensity of the light utilized for flash illumination purposes is so great that a document can be sufficiently illuminated for copying purposes while it is in motion at the illuminating station, since the time period required for photoreceptor imaging purposes is on the order of (10) milliseconds or less. Since the document can be copied while it is in motion it is not essential to retain the document at the illuminating station unless it is desired to make multiple copies of the document.
It is therefore advantageous to provide a document feeder for a copier of the type which utilizes flash illuminating means, to permit an operator to take advantage of the rapidity with which copies can be made by avoiding the time consuming task of carefully locating successive documents at the illuminating station. Further, inasmuch as the document may be in motion at the illuminating station when making copies utilizing such copiers, prior art document feeders such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,623,806, issued Nov. 30, 1971 to Jerome M. Short, may be simplified by permitting movement of a document at the illuminating station whether or not the document is retained at that station. Accordingly:
An object of the present invention is to provide a document feeder for use with a copier of the type which includes means for flash illuminating a document to be copied; and
Another object is to provide a simplified document feeder for a copier of the type which utilizes flash illuminating means for making copies of a document.